This quick and easy Broccoli based pasta dish makes a great side dish and also works perfectly as a full meal. The beauty of this recipe is how easily adaptable it is - use what is in season and what you have in the fridge to create a nutritious and delicious meal that is guaranteed to satisfy. Even if all you have is broccoli - you can just leave out the spinach and herbs and work with what you've got available!
You will need:
2 large heads of broccoli, or 2 bunches of sprouting broccoli
250g dried pasta (short pasta such as penne, rigatoni or shells works best for this recipe but you can use whatever you have)
1 bunch of spinach (you can substitute any leafy greens, for example silverbeet, kale, beet greens or watercress)
1 large onion (you can substitute leek, fennel or garlic depending on what is in season and available)
1 small handful of fresh herbs (for example parsley, coriander, thyme or basil)
One decent handful of finely grated cheese - parmesan or pecorino cheese work best but you can use whatever you have (you can omit the cheese or substitute with nutritional yeast for a vegan option)
1 TBS olive oil
Juice of one lemon
Freshly ground sea salt & black pepper
What to do:
Finely slice your onion (or substitute vege). Cut your broccoli florets up into similar size pieces and don't forget to use the stems also! If you are cooking with sprouting broccoli, just chop the stems right up but if you are using big broc, remove the tough stem ends then use a sharp knife (or spud peeler) to remove the outer layer of the stem, and the chop the stem into similar size pieces.
Add the onion to a pan with the olive oil over a medium heat, stir occasionally.
Bring a large pot of well salted water to the boil, then add your broccoli pieces and cook for 5 minutes only, then use tongs or a slotted spoon to transfer the broccoli into the pan and give it a good stir to combine with the onion.
Cook your pasta in the pot with the broccoli water (saves extra dishes!) according to the packet instructions. Once the pasta has been cooking for a few minutes, add about a half a cup of the pasta water to your pan, and using a fork smush the broccoli pieces up to form more of a chunky pesto type consistency (if you prefer not to do this step that's totally fine too).
Finely chop your spinach (or leafy greens of choice) and fresh herbs, then add those to the pan, along with a wee bit more of the pasta water. When the pasta is cooked, drain this and add to the pan also, along with a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper, the juice of a lemon and freshly ground sea salt if you think it needs it (give it a taste).
Give that all a good stir and continue to cook until the water is mostly incorporated, then remove from the heat and serve, using a little extra grated cheese and chopped fresh herbs to garnish if you wish.
To make a super creamy variation of this dish, you can also wait approximately 10 minutes for it to cool before stirring through a cup of room temperature natural, thick yoghurt.
This meal will keep well in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 5 days but unfortunately doesn't tend to freeze well.